Great Dane plant builds 100,000th trailer

Great Dane has now built more than 100,000 trailers at its van plant in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The company commemorated the milestone at a special ceremony February 1.

Steve Russell, founder and CEO of Celadon Group, took delivery of a special award to commemorate his fleet’s receipt of the 100,000th trailer. Other speakers included the mayor of Terre Haute and several members of the Great Dane management team. The ceremony also recognized the 14 Great Dane employees who have worked in the Terre Haute plant since it opened 17 years ago.

Great Dane opened the 565,000-sq-ft facility in 1995 with a single production line and added a second line two months after the plant opened. It produced 2,700 trailers during its first year of operation. It has averaged more than 8,200 trailers per year in the 17 years it has been in operation.

The plant is capable of producing the full line of Great Dane’s new Champion dry van series, including the Champion CP dry-freight van that utilizes the company’s composite panel technology.